Microquasars

If you want to use this webpage please do so, however remember to acknowledge it:
Chaty S., www.aim.univ-paris7.fr/CHATY

This work was made by Sebastien Delautier (Supelec student, engineering school) during a one month internship at the CEA/Irfu under the direction of Sylvain Chaty. A similar work was also made for a few dust enshrouded INTEGRAL sources.

Name RA DE Binary characteristics Jet X rays INTEGRAL gamma flux (mW/m2) IR (2Mass Catalogue) IR (Litterature) UV Radio Optical Notes




















  J2000 J2000 Compact Object Companion star Binary type Magnitude Inclination Speed Average flux F3 F10 F30 F60 Average Mag Average UV obs Average Range Average flux at 1,4Ghz (mJy) Average flux at other frequencies (litt) Average Band  
  h m s h m s Type Mass (Msun) Porb (d or hr) Spectral type Mass(Msun) Mass Ratio Type (V band) (deg)   (microJy, 2-12keV) 3-10keV 10-30keV 20-60keV 60-200keV J H K mag (K band)
flux   (NVSS catalogue) Flux Freq Mag    
Microquasars                                                            
LS I +61°303 02 36 +61 0 ? 1 26,4960+-0,0028d B0 Ve star 10-15   HMXB 10,8 30+-20 0,6c   2,65E-11 4,51E-12 4,30E-13 7,21E-17 8,621+-0,024 8,228+-0,021 7,917+-0,023   X     42,2+-1,3 1-17E31 erg/s        
CI Cam 04 21 +56 0 White dwarf?   19,41+-0,02d B2 IIIe/B[e]     HMXB 11,86   0,15c 2000 3,48E-08 5,68E-08 3,70E-08 2,77E-09 13,594+-0,086 11,439 10,228                   X ray outbursts
XTEJ1118+480 11 18 +48 0 Black hole 6,1+-0,3 4,1hr     0,037+-0,008 LMXB 12,25 71-82 0,4c 40 5,36E-09 1,11E-09 1,19E-10 2,42E-14 12,76+-0,023 12,444+-0,030 12,084+-0,02   X       8,68+-0,87mJy 15,2Ghz I=12,68+-0,05 V UV var. lags behind X-rays by 1-2 s
XTEJ1550-564 15 50 -56 4 Black hole? 10,7 36,96hr G/K subgiant     LMXB 16,6-21,4 73,1 0,55c down to 0,16c 600-7000 1,38E-10 2,85E-11 3,05E-12 6,23E-16 ? ? ?           10+-2,5mJy 4,8-8,6Ghz 17 V strong aperiodic X-ray variability
4U1630-47 16 34
 -47 26             LMXB   60-75   <2-1400 4,10E-10 8,49E-11 9,08E-12 1,85E-15       13,65+-0,05                  
GRO J1655-40/ V* V1033 Sco 16 55 -40 Black hole 7 2,6219+-0,0002d   2,3   LMXB 14,2-17,3 70,2+-1,9 0,27+-0,03c 1600 1,46E-10 3,28E-11 6,09E-12 1,88E-12 13,516+-0,029 12,997+-0,044 12,744+-0,034 12,06-13,4 X 18,1-18,9 216-286nm       15,1-16,3 V repeated X-ray outbursts; superluminal jets; X-ray dips;reprocession of X-ray into opt. and UV emission
GX339-4 17 02 -48 Black hole   0,61916+-0,00065d       LMXB 15,5     1,5-900 4,41E-12 7,41E-12 1,05E-11 2,05E-11 15,911+-0,137 15,404+-0,150 14,973+-0,138                    
KS1731-260 17 31 -26 0 Neutron star 1,4 1-3d       LMXB       <10-110 ? ? ? ? 14,833+-0,061 13,548+-0,070 13,024+-0,052 18,5-19       156,3+-5,5         X-ray bursts
1E 1740,7-2942 17 40 70 -29 42 ? 10 12,73d red giant?     LMXB   80 0,7c 4-30 2,44E-08 3,88E-08 4,08E-08 2,97E-08 ? ? ?                   repeated outbursts of hard emission; double-sided radio jet
XTE J1748-2829 17 48 -28 8 ?           LMXB       640 9,29E-12 2,74E-12 3,03E-13 6,22E-17 16,478+-0,115 16,274 14,771                   radio jets
GRS1758-258 17 58 -25 8 ? 8-9 18,45+-0,03d K0 III giant 10   LMXB     <=0,3 1250                         0,14+-0,01/30,3+-1 4,8/8,6Ghz     no X-ray pulsations;long and short term X-ray vars
V4641 Sagitarii 18 19 30 -16 25 25 Black hole 9,61+2,08-0,88 2,81678+-0,00056d late B star/B9III 6,53 +1,6/-1,03 0,666+-0,076 LMXB 8,8-13,5 60-70,7 0,9c 1-13000 4,10E-11 8,48E-12 9,07E-13 1,85E-16 12,532+-0,032 12,364+-0,028 12,270+-0,032 13,1+-0,6                  
V691 CrA 18 22 -37 1 Neutron star 1,4 5,57hr   0,40-0,43   LMXB 15,3-16,3 81-84   10-25 1,68E-09 7,25E-10 2,06E-10 2,01E-12 15,285+-0,054 15,297+-0,105 15,450+-0,194   X               accretion disc corona
LS 5039 18 26 20 -14 50 Neutron star 1,4 4,117+-0,011d O7V  10-40   HMXB 11,23 30 >0,15c 0,3 5,22E-12 8,51E-12 5,55E-12 4,15E-13 9,024+-0,026 8,751+-0,022 8,604+-0,022         23,4+-0,9         bipolar jets
XTE J1859+226/V406 Vul 18 59 22 6 Black hole 5-12 9,16+-0,08hr   0,68-1,12   LMXB 15,31-15,75 60? ? 600 8,63E-09 1,79E-09 1,91E-10 2,90E-14 ? ? ? 13,833-16,67 X                
SS433 19 09 +04 8   30 13,082d A5-A7I 9   HMXB 14,2 78,8 0,26c 2-10 6,52E-09 2,81E-09 7,97E-10 7,80E-12 9,398+-0,021 8,739+-0,029 8,163+-0,024         879,4+-26,4         accretion disk; high speed jets; extended X-ray lobes
GRS1915+105 19 15 +10 5 Blackhole 14+-4 33,5d K-M III 1,2+-0,2   LMXB I=23.4 70+-2 0,60c 300 1,46E-10 3,28E-11 6,09E-12 1,88E-12 15,549+-0,063 13,416+-0,031 12,415+-0,035 12,95+-0,14         160mJy 8,4Ghz     quasi periodic in IR, radio and mm band; repeated relativistic ejections;IR synchrotron emissions
Cygnus X-1 19 58 21,7 +35 12 Blackhole 13,5-29 5,6d   29-50   HMXB 8,90 28-38 ?   1,67E-08 2,15E-08 2,52E-08 2,89E-08 6,872+-0,023 6,562+-0,18 6,501+-0,020                    
Cygnus X-3 (V1521) 20 30 +40 7 ? 1,4-3 4,8hr   6-10   HMXB I=20,0 70 0,48-0,81c 90-430 6,83E-10 9,14E-10 1,13E-09 1,75E-09 15,309+-0,059 13,192+-0,057 11,921+-0,031 16,3       87,3+-3,2 100mJy cm 21,3 I radio jets and lobes; radio outbursts; No X ray pulsations
XTE J1720-318
 17 19 59
 -31 44 59
 Blackhole





HMXB















0.27+-0.06
 8.5























Sco X-1
 16 19 55
 -15 38 25






LMXB









































Statistics                
                                         
mean                           5,86E-09 7,33E-09 6,21E-09 4,61E-08 12,834 12,047 11,505                    
rms                           1,02E-08 1,64E-08 1,37E-08 1,74E-07 3,126 2,950 2,817                    
median                           4,1E-10 8,49E-11 6,25E-11 1,88E-12 13,555 12,720 12,177                    

Explanations

Introduction

About the compact object

About the binary type

Multi wavelength characteristics

Radio data

Gamma, IR and radio

Statistics

Further

Introduction

Microquasars are smaller cousins of quasars. They are named after quasars, as they have some common characteristics: strong and variable radio emission often seen as radio jets, and a binary system with a black hole or white dwarf as the compact object and a companion star.

In quasars, the black hole is supermassive (millions of solar masses), while in microquasars the black hole mass is a few solar masses. In microquasars, the accreted mass comes from the companion star and the accretion disk is very luminous in X-rays. 

Microquasars are sometimes called 'radio-jet X-ray binaries' to distinguish them from other X-ray binaries. Most of the radio emission comes from relativistic jets, often showing apparent superluminal motion.

Microquasars are very important for the study of relativistic jets. The jets are formed close to the black hole, and timescales near the black hole are proportional to the mass of the black hole. Therefore, ordinary quasars take centuries to go through variations a microquasar experiences in one day.  

About this chart

The first step was to build a list of known microquasars. I used the Astrophysics Data System (ADS) with the keyword microquasar and I read the articles in order to establish the first column of the chart with accuracy.  The list is ordered by Right Ascension going up.

The chart is based on literature and observation catalogues. The first half gathering the binary characteristics (type, mass, period, jet speed) relies on articles found about the source. It is important to notice that the V magnitude comes from articles in this part of the chart, not from catalogues. 

About the compact object

The type of compact object is based on literature and is linked with the jets speed. This is why I gathered the available speeds in a dedicated column. Actually the 0.5c speed limit seems to be a frontier for the nature of the compact object: neutron star under 0.5c and black hole above. The jet speed of J1550-564 is particular: a deceleration of the jet was observed, from 0,55c to 0,16c (because of the interaction with the interstellar medium).

About the binary type

I was not able to find all the mass values of the companion star. Consequently the type Low Mass X ray Binary and High Mass X ray Binary is mostly taken from 

Q.Z.Liu et al., A catalogue of low-mass X-ray binaries, Astronomy & Astrophysics 368, 1021-1054 (2001)

Q.Z.Liu et al.,  A catalogue of high-mass X-ray binaries, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Suppl series 147,25-49 (2000)

The mass ratio is  equal to Mcompanion/Mcompact object

Multi wavelength characteristics

The X ray average fluxes in the 2-12keV band are taken from the catalogues established by Q.Z. Liu et al. 

The first V magnitude column is also taken from Q.Z. Liu et al

The optical (second optical column, at the end of the chart) and UV values come from articles. Concerning UV, the cross indicates the observational evidence of a UV counterpart but I was not able to find the related values.

Radio data

The radio data is half from the literature, with various frequencies and half from the NVSS catalogue, with a frequency of 1.4GHz (see the text below for further information)

Gamma, IR and radio

After a search with Simbad for the current coordinates of the object, I used Vizier within the catalogue of INTEGRAL sources. Then I plotted the result with Aladdin and added the Simbad analysis of the area to make sure I had the good source. I also added X  ray, IR and radio data. Hence an accurate selection of the sources in IR and radio could be made. However in some cases, radio and X-ray  data do not accurately help to definite the position of the IR counterpart. Therefore I selected only the nearest (from the Simbad reference) infrared source.   

Statistics

As I was able to find comprehensive data in IR and Gamma for the 17 microquasars, I calculated mean, rms and median. The gamma-ray values can vary with a factor 100 to 1000 so you should only consider the median.

Going further

This work has two goals. First, it gathers available data about the microquasars in a unique chart, making it easier to read. Secondly, it can help to determine the typical characteristics of the microquasars (radio jets, x-ray and gamma-ray emissions). The statistics were calculated in order to compare the fluxes of new INTEGRAL sources with the flux of the microquasars and help to draw conclusions on the nature of the source.  
































































































































































References

 

Q.Z.Liu et al., A catalogue of low-mass X-ray binaries, Astronomy & Astrophysics 368, 1021-1054 (2001)

Q.Z.Liu et al.,  A catalogue of high-mass X-ray binaries, Astronomy & Astrophysics, Suppl series 147,25-49 (2000)

 

LSI +61°303

J. Casares, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 360, 1105-1109 (2005)

Massi et al, AIP Conference Proceedings, Volume 745. New York: American Institute of Physics, 2005., p.311-316

 

CI Cam

M. Ishida er al, RevMexAA (serie de Conferencias), 20, 104-105 (2004)

E.A. Barsukova, The Astronomer's Telegram

T.Belloni et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 527:345-352 (1999)

 

XTEJ1118+480

R.I. Hynes et al, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 345, 292-310 (2003)

S.Markoff et al, Astronomy & Astrophysics 372, L25-L28 (2001)

Chaty et al, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 346, 689-703 (2003)

 

XTEJ1550-564

P.Kaaret et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 582:945-953 (2003)

K.Wu et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 565:1161-1168, (2002)

M.Gierlinski et al, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 342, 1083-1092 (2003)

S.Corbel et al, New Astronomy Reviews 47, 477-480 (2003)


4U1630-47

T.Augusteijin et al, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 375, 447-454 (2001)

Callanan et al, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 355, 1049-1052 (2000)

Kuulkers et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 494:753-758 (1998)

Oosterbroek et al, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 340, 431-436 (1998)

 

GRO J1655-40/ V* V1033 Sco

J.A. Combi et al, Astronomy & Astrophysics 370, L5-L8 (2001)

K. Yamaoka et al, PASJ 53, 179-188 (2001)

J. Greene, C.D. Bailyn et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 554: 129-1297 (2001)

M.Gierlinski et al, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 325, 1253-1265 (2001)

A.Kubota et al, The Astrophysical Journal , 560:L147-L150 (2001)

S.Chaty et al,  Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 331, 1065-1071 (2002)

I.F. Mirabel et al, Astronomy & Astrophysics 395, 595-599 (2002)

Albert K.H. Komg et al, The Astronomer's Telegram (2005)

Y.Kobayashi et al, PASJ 55, 273-279 (2003)

 

GX339-4

Callanan et al, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 259, 395-400 (1992)


KS1731-260

Barret, Motch, Predehl, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 329, 965-970 (1998)

Smtih et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 479: L137-L140 (1997)

Mignani, R. P.; Chaty, S.; Mirabel, I. F.; Mereghetti, S. Astronomy and Astrophysics, v.389, p.L11-L14 (2002)

 

1E 1740,7-2942

J. Fukue, M.Ioroi, PASJ 51, 151-159 (1999)

J.Marti et al, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 363, 184-187 (2000)

D.M. Smith, The Astrophysical Journal, 578:L129-L132 (2002)

 

GRS1758-258

J.W. Keck et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 563:301-312 (2001)

M.J. Hardcastle, Astronomy & Astrophysics 434, 35-39 (2005)

 

V4641 Sagitarii

J.A. Orosz et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 555:489-503 (2001)

Chaty et al., Proceedings of the 4th INTEGRAL workshop, ESA SP-459, Sept 2001

Miller et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 577:L15-L18 (2002)

Chaty et al, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 343, 169-174 (2003)

 

V691 CrA

A.P. Crowley. P.C. Schmidtke et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 125 :2163-2172 (2003)

J.B. Hutchings et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 130 :210-213 (2005)

K.O. Mason, F.A. Cordova, The Astrophysical Journal, 262: 253-262 (1982)

P.G. Jomker, M. Van der Klis, The Astrophysical Journal, 553: L43-L46 (2001)

 

LS 5039

M.V. McSwain et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 558: L43-L46 (2001)

M.V. McSwain et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 568: L27-L30 (2002)

 

XTE J1859+226

M.Uemura et al, PASJ 56, S147-S154 (2004)

C. Zurita et al, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 334, 999-1008 (2002)

R.I. Hynes et al, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 331, 169-179 (2002)

 

SS433

K.M. Blundell, M,G Bowler, The Astrophysical Journal , 622: L129-L132 (2005)

A.M. Chrepashchuk et al, Astronomy & Astrophysics 437, 561-573 (2005)

 

GRS1915+105

S. Kato, PASJ 56, L25-L28 (2004)

S. Eikenberry, The Astrophysical Journal, 545:L131-L134 (2000)

O. Vilhu, Astronomy & Astrophysics 388, 936-939 (2002)

M. Turler et al, Astronomy & Astrophysics 415, L35-L38 (2004)

Mirabel, Dhawan, Chaty et al, Astronomy and Astrophysics, v.409, p.L35-L39 (2003)

 

Cygnus X-1

D.R. Gies et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 304 : 371-388 (1986)

C.Brocksopp et al, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 309, 1063-1073 (1999)

J.Ziolkowski, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , 358, 851-859 (2005)

 

Cygnus X3 (V1521)

J.C.A. Miller-Jones et al, The Astrophysical Journal, 600 : 368-389 (2004)

J.Marti, RevMexAA (serie de Conferencias), 14, 58-58 (2002)